Bret Bielema in a phrase? Fun but focused.A dyed-in-the-wool woo pig sooie -- or, for you youngsters, #WPS -- fan is departing a Razorback Club autograph line clutching her Arkansas football jersey that has just been signed by the head coach. She looks shell-shocked, as if she has just met Elvis.What did he say to you? she is asked. Trembling, she shakes her head to return to reality. He said my jersey was too nice and that I must have broken into the locker room and stolen it, and he was going to contact the police. Then he said he was joking and that I could keep it even if I did steal it because theyre going to play better than they did in those jerseys last year.See? Fun but focused.As his fourth Arkansas team files into its meeting room, Bielema stands where he always does, right by the door, calling out every single player by name and knowing a little something about each that will get under his shoulder pads. Whered my man get this haircut? Did you give it to him? Were the lights off? But then later, he grabs the same player when no one else is around. The kid is struggling in a science class and in the weight room, so the coach has a scheduling idea that he thinks might help with both. We gotta get that weight up, but we really gotta get that GPA up.Few coaches in big-time college football walk the fun-but-focused tightrope better than Bret Bielema. Some do fun at the expense of focus, but more go the other way.?Bielema, 46, has figured out how to walk that line straight down the middle. Hes the guy with the hilarious Twitter timeline that includes pics of his unknowing wife, Jen, cleaning the pool deck.Hes the guy who has replaced Steve Spurrier as the cant-miss news conference at SEC Media Days. In July, he held court on everything from Russell Wilsons wedding (I was at Russells wedding -- not in the wedding. I just sat and watched. I was the guy in the eighth row in the outside seat.) to Michigans cancellation of an upcoming series with Arkansas (The Michigan-Notre Dame thing sounds sexy to everybody else, but I think Michigan and Arkansas sounds sexy.).He stars in the reality show Being Bret Bielema, which recently moved from webisodes to ESPNU. Actually, he costars with Jen, whom, as the internet loves to remind us, he met at a Las Vegas casino. She was also the Freudian subject of a Bielema quote that YouTube will never let us forget, said when Bielema was ready to leave Arkansas roller coaster 53-52 win over Ole Miss last November, Im just looking forward to hopping on the wife -- hopping on the plane! Hopping on the plane with my wife. I cant believe I just said that.I cant believe he said that, either, she recalled with a roll of the eyes at SEC media days. But thats Bret. If people cant see the fun behind Bret, I feel sorry for them.Certainly, there are those who dont. Earlier this month, an SEC coach was quoted anonymously by GridironNow.com as saying: Arkansas is getting tired of Bielemas bulls---. He hasnt won over nine games. Houston [Nutt] won 10 and was a hell of a lot better person.That coach, and the Arkansans he refers to, appear to be outnumbered -- at least for now. Time spent listening to local sports talk radio in The Natural State doesnt come with a lot of venom oozing through the speakers. Despite his living somewhere along the same timeline as fellow next-generation SEC head coaches such as Texas A&Ms Kevin Sumlin or Tennessees Butch Jones, Bielema doesnt seem to be shadowed by the statewide screams of Its time to get on with winning or else!I think people know we are building something here, and were trying to do it the right way, Bielema said.He audibly groans when thinking back to 2013 and his first Arkansas team, which went 3-9 and 0-8 in the SEC. He admits to wondering if the reasons he went to the conference -- the high levels of competition and passion -- might also be the reasons given for running him out of that conference before hed barely unpacked. The following seasons of 7-6 and 8-5, increasing SEC wins from zero to two to five and ending with bowl victories, have eased his mind. But only a little.We dont have guys getting into trouble anymore, certainly not like they were, he said. Weve brought our academics way up. And I think parents know that when we say were going to look out for their son, they know we mean it. And their son knows hes going to have fun but also work hard.Then the coach repeats a mantra heard since his hiring. That being said, all of that only works if we win games. Were getting there. Im just fortunate to have people around me who know this is a long-term project.Certainly, a big portion of that sense of security comes from his boss, athletic director Jeff Long. It was Long who sent Bobby Petrino packing and went searching into decidedly non-SEC corners for a replacement. Ultimately, he found his way to Wisconsin, impressed by Bielemas Badgers and their three consecutive Rose Bowl trips, but even more affected by the handwritten note he received from the Wisconsin head coach complimenting the AD on how he handled the bizarre Petrino situation.What was portrayed as an unconventional hire makes a lot of sense in retrospect. Bielemas tractor-pull style of football was the opposite of Petrinos QB-centric methods, but it tapped into decades of Arkansas pigskin DNA. Bielema was painted as a Big Ten guy, and rightfully so, but Fayetteville has always been more Midwest than southeastern or even southwestern, no matter what conference it might belong to. The southern border of Iowa, where Bielema played for and coached under Hayden Fry, is just five hours north up I-35. Kansas State, where he coached under Bill Snyder, is also a little more than five hours to the west.He was always going to be a better fit here than some people were willing to admit, but theres a certain attitude you have to have to be at Arkansas, said Jimmy Johnson, who was a Razorbacks player and coach under Frank Broyles before he became the builder of The U and rebuilder of the Dallas Cowboys. Johnson certainly never had a difficult time balancing fun and focus. You have to come into Fayetteville with a bit of a chip on your shoulder. We arent Texas or Alabama, so we have to work harder. And when you do finally beat Texas or Alabama, that makes it just that much more fun, knowing what all you had to do to get there.Thats kind of like being at Iowa and beating Penn State. Or being at Kansas State and beating Oklahoma and USC. Or being at Wisconsin and beating Ohio State and Michigan. Bielema was there for all of that, learning under the tutelage of Fry, Snyder and Barry Alvarez, all members of the College Football Hall of Fame.A man with that kind of mentors isnt one to run a loosey-goosey sort of program, even if he runs that program while wearing flip-flops and blaring country music in his office. That office is covered in notes -- legal pads packed with observations from practice that will be ripped off and placed in front of Arkansas players and assistant coaches. They know those notes might come with the occasional ironic elementary school teacher-ish smiley or frowning faces, but they also know the information written below those scribbles is ultra-serious, just as they know that being late for anything -- and on time is late -- is an offense punishable by public humiliation.Youre only ever late to anything once, senior linebacker Brooks Ellis said. He is the perfect kind of Razorback, a Fayetteville native and pre-med student with a near-4.0 GPA. I honestly dont know what the punishment would be if youre late twice because no one ever is.This is the unmistakable work ethic of Bielema, a kid who grew up on a farm in northwestern Illinois, rising early every day to do chores and schoolwork, study football and work toward his dream of becoming an Iowa Hawkeye. Now hes an Arkansas Razorback. His drive has never wavered, a drive often taken with the windows down on his Jeep while listening to Justin Moores Kinda Dont Care with a pair of teacup Yorkies in the backseat hanging on for dear life.Everyone should have a goal in mind. I dont care what you do for a living, he said. But you also need to live your life a little bit. Look around, and see whats there. Find some fun. If you dont, this will drive you crazy. So head it off at the pass and be a little crazy first.That sounds fun, right?Yeah, coach, it does. Fun but focused. Discount Nike Free Ireland . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. Wholesale Shoes Ireland .com) - Richie Incognito has reportedly been admitted to a psychiatric care unit in Arizona. http://www.nikefreecheapireland.com/ .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. Nike Free Ireland Online . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. Discount Nike Free Ireland Shoes . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead. BOSTON -- Jon Lester was inducing Torontos aggressive batters to make outs by getting them to swing at first pitches -- until Macier Izturis came up in the sixth. First pitch. Two-out double to left field. End of bid for perfect game and no-hitter. But Izturis was the only Blue Jay to reach base as the Boston Red Sox broke a three-game losing streak with a 5-0 win on Friday night. "The no-hitter, perfect game, all that stuff, the stars got to be perfectly aligned for you," Lester said. He should know. Lester (5-0) threw a no-hitter on May 19, 2008, beating the Kansas City Royals 7-0. Just nine days shy of the fifth anniversary of that gem, the left-hander retired the first 17 batters before Izturis lined a clean double several feet over the outstretched arm of third baseman Will Middlebrooks that landed just inside the foul line. Lester then ended the inning by striking out pinch-hitter Adam Lind. "If that balls two feet to (the) left, its right at him," Lester said. "Good pitch, what we wanted to throw especially to an aggressive hitter. He did a good job of hitting it." Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia could have a tough time forgetting it. "As soon as the game was over I started thinking about it," he said. "Changeup, first pitch. Im going to have nightmares about it to be honest with you." The closest the Blue Jays came to another hit was Brett Lawries low liner starting the sixth that centre fielder Jacoby Ellsbury caught easily. "He was throwing everything," Torontos J.P. Arencibia said. "I think he used our aggressiveness against us a little bit. Hes pretty special when you could throw cutter, sinker, four-seam, hook, changeup, and on both sides of the plate. The guys one of the best in the game for a reason. He showed that tonight." Lester wasnt the only pitcher to give up only one hit Friday. St. Louis Shelby Miller gave up a leadoff single then retired 27 in a row in a 3-0 victory over Colorado. Lester finished with five strikeouts in the 10th complete game and third shutout of his career, effectively mixing his pitches and locating them precisely. He threw just 118 pitches -- only 58 in the first five innings -- and retired the first batter in each of the first three innings on one pitch apiece. "Weve always seen him good. Hes one of the better ones in the game," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "He carved us up pretty good tonight." But the Red Sox leed only 1-0 before scoring four runs in the seventh.dddddddddddd "In the seventh we were able to bunch some hits together, which was kind of elusive," Boston manager John Farrell said. Boston continued to waste numerous opportunities. It left runners on base in each of the first seven innings after stranding runners in all nine innings of Thursday nights 5-3 win over the Minnesota Twins. They scored in the second against Ramon Ortiz (0-1) when Daniel Nava walked, took third on a single by Saltalamacchia and scored when shortstop Izturis fielded Middlebrooks grounder but his throw to start a potential inning-ending double play eluded second baseman Mark DeRosa. The Red Sox finally built a comfortable lead in the seventh. Singles by Ellsbury and Shane Victorino put runners at first and second and they moved up on a wild pitch by Brett Cecil. Dustin Pedroia singled in a run, but the next two batters struck out. Then Saltalamacchia doubled in two runs and Middlebrooks drove in another with his second double of the game. Fridays outing was the fourth time Lester allowed just one hit while pitching at least seven innings -- and the third time against Toronto. The other two were over eight innings in a 1-0 win in Boston on April 29, 2008, and seven innings in a 2-0 win at Toronto on April 28, 2010. He also did it against Kansas City in eight innings of a 1-0 win on July 18, 2006. Then there was the no-hitter in his first full season when he relied on veteran catcher Jason Varitek to tell him what to throw. "I feel like back then (I was) such a thrower, not really a pitcher. I think the best way to put it is, effectively wild for my no-hitter," Lester said. "Now, obviously going through this a couple of times and (Im) a little bit more mature and understanding what Im trying to do." And that made his catchers job simpler. "My job was easy. I put the glove there and he hit it," Saltalamacchia said. "I dont think whoever we were facing could have hit him." NOTES: The last Red Sox pitcher to allow one runner in a complete game was Josh Beckett in a one-hitter at Tampa Bay on June 15, 2011. ... Toronto designated hitter Rajai Davis left the game with a left oblique strain. Lind pinch hit for him in the sixth. ... Clay Buchholz (6-0) pitches for Boston against Mark Buehrle (1-2) in the second game of the three-game series Saturday. ... Torontos six-game winning streak at Fenway ended. ' ' '